New Rivalry Unlocked as Loyola New Orleans Edges A&M

For Texas A&M, this was a bounceback showing after a loss to Souhtern Nazarene.

"I felt really good about how the boys played," said A&M Head Coach Jake Mizell. "They showed a lot of heart under what was a very trying week. I'm most proud that we are starting to find our identity on the field and we continued applying pressure and staying in the fight the whole match."

Mistakes in the lineouts and in the breakdown cost the Aggies, and Mizell had praise for his opponents' discipline.

"Coach Howden and his crew have some quality players and they are operating well," the A&M coach said. "For me, scheduling these high-caliber varsity teams for our non-conference schedule was exactly the test we needed heading into Lonestar play."

It was a good, competitive game on Recruiting Weekend, with close to two-dozen prospective Aggies at the game.

"I want to thanks all the fans and recruits who came out to support both teams," said Mizell. "We had more than 20 recruits on the sidelines and a couple-hundred people at Penberthy for rugby under the Texas Friday night lights. We're grateful to Loyola for making the long trek from New Orleans and we're looking forward to building this rivalry."